Drugs So Strong, This Is What Philly Agents Have to Wear

By George Spencer and Brian X. McCrone

Special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration demonstrates how much special gear their agents use when conducting a drug raid. The extra protection has become a necessity as opioids continue to gain potency.

(Published Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017)

Inside a Philadelphia heroin mill in early September, law enforcement found more than 30,000 bags of the opioid.

The big bust in the Summerdale section nearly became a catastrophe when three city police officers and a state investigator were overcome by what some believe was the deadly synthetic opioid, fentanyl.

It was the most recent lesson for law enforcement, and first responders like paramedics, in the ever-growing opioid epidemic: More protective gear than ever is needed when responding to an opioid-related incident.

Dangerous to touch! A potent mix of heroin is making drug raids far more dangerous for first responders. NBC10 investigative reporter George Spencer shows us how law enforcement is dealing with heroin laced with the incredibly powerful and often deadly additive, fentanyl.

(Published Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017)

Other incidents, like an overdose in Bucks County in July that sent two paramedics, an EMT and a firefighter to a nearby hospital, are forcing local authorities to buy better protection. Since fentanyl officially entered the southeastern Pennsylvania illicit drug market last year, first responder overdoses have become a major concern.

"Whereas heroin can kill you in milligrams, fentanyl can kill you in micrograms,” said Gary Tuggle, the Drug Enforcement Administration's agent-in-charge for Philadelphia.

PHOTO: DEA Suit with George
NBC10

The DEA has already ramped up its response safety protocol, as was clearly on display during a demonstration for NBC10. Tuggle gave a reporter the opportunity to see what it's like to gear up for a heroin and fentanyl bust.

Agents strap on a bulletproof vest and a breathing apparatus that reminds of a scuba diver. Then on comes a fully enclosed green suit that harkens to "The X-Files."

After the overdose incident in Bucks County that sent some of his medics to the hospital, an official with the local ambulance squad said new protective gear, including a Hazmat-grade arm sleeve made of a material called Tyvek, would be required.